Congregation Betenu Torah Fund

celebrating the funding of our Torah repairs

In the wake of the high holidays, pledges and checks have
rolled
in, bringing the Torah Fund up to the $11,000 level that we targeted
to restore our original Torah. It is anticipated that this work can
be accomplished in plenty of time for the high holidays, 5760 (1999).
Many thanks to all the donors for bringing Betenu to this proud and
happy milestone!

also celebrating our new ark

The cherished Torah scrolls of Congregation Betenu got a
beautiful
home in a new ark this summer. This ark was specially built for the
congregation as a unique piece of art, serving both the practical
storage needs for the sacred scrolls and the aesthetic needs of an
understated, but exquisite focal point for the sanctuary.

about the Torah Fund

To assure the ongoing maintenance of the Torahs housed by this
splendid ark, as well as the aquisition of our second Torah last year,
we established the Betenu Torah Fund. The fund began when it was
recognized that repairs were needed for our first Torah, donated to
Betenu by Rabbi Segal in honor of the thirteenth anniversary of the
congregation.

The fund is set up to encourage wide participation, with
donors
sponsoring various sections of the Torah. Children are invited to
donate eighteen cents per letter via the religious school. Adults are
invited to donate $1.80 per word or $18.00 per verse. Please make
checks payable to Betenu Torah Fund and send them attention Treasurer
Hannah Belesca. We will track sponsored verses below on this web page.
Please consider sponsoring a verse when you have the honor of reading
it; this will allow the fund to be plentiful enough to maintain this
precious handiwork well into future generations.

Thanks to many wonderful donors, we reached our initial
milestone
of $7000, which allowed us to locate and purchase a kosher used Torah
for $8000 in time for the high holidays, 5758. We celebrated the
arrival of our second Torah throughout the high holidays and
held a dedication at Simchat Torah.

An anonymous matching donor helped us make much of the
progress
toward our goals. Now that we have achieved these milestones, the
Torah Fund will still collect money for future maintenance and related
expenses the board deems appropriate. The total funds raised thus far
exceed $11,000.

Sponsored Verses

Genesis

1:1-3 Anonymous

1:14-19 Douglas Hirsch

2:19 Marjorie Satz, in memory of Mollie Segal

6:17-19 Anonymous

9:1-28 Geoffrey Gross

17:1-27 in honor of Abraham Hart Gross

Exodus

24:7 The confirmation class of 1997

Leviticus

12:1 Elaine & Robert Schwartz, in honor of their
16th anniversary

Numbers

6:26 Mark Urick, in memory of his mother Isabel Blake

22-24 in memory of Diantha Perry Gross

Deuteronomy

6:4-9 Geoffrey Gross

30:1-3 anonymous, in memory of Merrill Gross, father of
Geoffrey Gross